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GAO Faults Endangered Species Oversight

"The Fish and Wildlife Service has no established way to track cumulative threats or injuries to most of the imperiled species the agency is attempting to protect, according to a new report from federal investigators.

The Government Accountability Office found that FWS lacks a systematic way to track required monitoring reports or the harm to or death of protected species. Instead, the agency relies on individual biologists to maintain crucial species information -- meaning the retirement or loss of a biologist could be disastrous for the agency and the species it protects.

The report illuminates holes in the agency's oversight of the consultation process, which is considered key to protecting threatened and endangered species."